Updated for 2026!
If you’re plus-size and wondering whether you can start hula hooping for exercise, the answer is yes! Absolutely.
You do not need to lose weight first. You do not need to “get in shape” before you start. And you definitely don’t need to have some magical natural ability to keep a hoop up on your first try.
What does make a huge difference is starting with the right hoop for your body’s size.
A lot of adults try one of those little lightweight hoops from the toy section at Walmart, watch it fall straight to the floor, and immediately decide they can’t hula hoop. They never realize the hoop is the problem, not them. A larger adult beginner hoop moves more slowly around your body and gives you more time to find your rhythm.
I’ve been a plus-size hooper for years, and I built Ruby Hooping around the idea that bigger bodies deserve movement that is not only great exercise but is so fun you’ll actually want to keep doing it.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to choose a good beginner hoop, set yourself up for practice, get started with waist hooping, and make those first few sessions a whole lot less frustrating.
What kind of hoop should a plus-size beginner use?
For most plus-size adult beginners, the easiest place to start is with a larger, heavier beginner hoop rather than a small, lightweight hoop.
A bigger hoop moves more slowly around your body, which gives you more time to react and find your rhythm. That can make a huge difference when you’re first learning waist hooping.
The exact size you need depends on your body and your experience level, so I don’t want to cram the full sizing lesson into this article. I already have a detailed guide for that.
Read my Hula Hoop Sizing Guide
And if you’re ready to shop, my Beginner Hula Hoops are made specifically for adult beginners and come in a wide range of sizes.
Do I need to be in shape before I start?
Nope.
You do not need to get “in shape” before you start hula hooping. Hooping will be the thing that helps you start moving more in the first place.
If you’re brand new to exercise, start where you are. That might mean hooping for just a few minutes at a time, taking breaks when you need them, and building up slowly. You will be surprised at how quickly you’ll feel your body start to respond. You’ll get stronger and able to hoop for longer within the first couple of weeks.
You do not have to keep the hoop going forever for it to count, either. You do not have to sweat buckets (although you probably will since hooping is so fun and addictive you won’t even realize how much time has gone by while hooping).
The goal at first is just to get comfortable moving with the hoop and come back to it often enough that it starts to feel familiar.
If you have an injury, balance issue, joint pain, or another health concern that affects movement, it’s a good idea to check with a healthcare professional, because I’m not one. I’m just a plus size woman who is living my best life by spinning plastic circles and sharing the joy of hooping with all of you.
Set yourself up for a successful hoop workout
You don’t need a perfect workout space to start hooping. You just need enough room to move without smacking the hoop into a lamp, a coffee table, or another human being. (bahahaha)
If you can, choose a space where you can relax and not feel self-conscious while you’re learning. Outside is great, but a living room, garage, basement, or any open area can work too.
I’ve lived in places where I literally pushed the furniture to the edges of the room just so I could hoop and then scooted everything back when I was done, until time to do it all again!
Wear something comfortable that lets you move easily. Clothes that are very loose or bulky around your waist can sometimes make learning a little harder, so fitted or closer-fitting clothes may help at first.
Don’t wear slick fabrics like satin because that is one surefire way to make sure the hoop goes down fast.
Keep some water nearby, put on music you actually like, and give yourself permission to just have fun and be silly!
You are much more likely to keep coming back to hooping if it feels like something you want to do instead of another chore you’re supposed to force yourself through.
How do I start waist hooping?
Start with the hoop resting against your lower back and hold it level with the floor. Give it a strong, smooth push around your waist, then begin moving your body right away.
You’ll have more success if you focus on a pulsing forward-and-back or side-to-side motion with your core instead of making big circles with your hips. A lot of people try to follow the path of the hula hoop by moving their hips in circles, but that doesn’t actually work.
Keep your knees soft, stand tall, and try not to tense up too much. The hoop is probably going to fall at first. A lot. That is completely normal!
Pick it up and try again. Don’t give up! Your body will start to develop muscle memory quickly, and you’ll notice each session the hoop stays up a little bit longer.
Want a more detailed tutorial? Read my step-by-step beginner hula hoop guide.
Why does my hula hoop keep falling?
If your hoop keeps dropping to the floor, please know that is completely normal in the beginning and it in no way means you can’t hula hoop, nor does it mean you got the wrong size hoop (assuming you checked my size guide and got one of our beginner hoops sized for your body).
You’re asking your body to do something it is not used to doing, and it takes time to teach it the skill!
The good news is that I have written a whole troubleshooting guide to make sure you can keep your hoop up. I cover things like making sure you have the right hoop, making sure you’re holding the hoop correctly when you start, and much more.
If your hoop keeps falling, read my full troubleshooting guide here.
How long should a beginner practice hula hooping?
You don’t need to start with long workouts!
If you’re brand new to hooping, even 5 or 10 minutes at a time can be a perfectly good place to start. Your body is learning a new movement, and shorter practice sessions are more enjoyable and easier to stay consistent with than long sessions. Plus, your body develops muscle memory which will contribute to noticeable improvement every time you start a new session.
As you get more comfortable, you will gradually and naturally build up to longer sessions. Hooping becomes a bit addictive over time as you start to feel that satisfying click of your body getting the hang of a new hoop move.
But when you’re first starting out, I’d rather see you hoop for 10 minutes than sucking the fun out of your experience by trying to hit some arbitrary workout number.
Consistency matters so much more than going all-out in the beginning.
How do I stay motivated to keep hula hooping?
The easiest way to stick with hooping is to make it something you actually look forward to.
Put on music you love. Hoop outside when the weather is nice. Give yourself tiny goals instead of turning every practice session into a test. Maybe today you’re just trying to keep the hoop up through one whole song. Maybe next week you’re practicing a new move.
You do not need a perfect routine, and you definitely do not need to hoop every single day.
What matters is finding a rhythm that fits your life and makes you want to pick the hoop back up again.
And if motivation starts to fade, sometimes having other people to hoop with helps a lot.
How can I find support as a beginner hula hooper?
Learning is a lot more fun when you don’t feel like you’re doing it by yourself! Community is a HUGE part of hula hooping, and honestly it’s what keeps most of us coming back day after day, year after year.
One of the best things about the hooping world is truly the community around it. You can ask questions, celebrate the tiny wins, get ideas for new things to try, and see other people learning at their own pace too.
Here at Ruby Hooping, we have our own community that has thousands of members. We meet up in real life to hoop with other Ruby Hoopers in our same area of the world. We have Ruby Retreats every summer where hoopers in our community meet up to spend an entire weekend hooping and building each other up.
When you’re plus-size, older, brand new to exercise, or just feeling a little awkward about starting, it helps so much to see other people who look like you and aren’t trying to be perfect.
That’s literally why I built the Ruby Hooping community in the first place. You belong here!
Come join us in the Ruby Hoopers Facebook group and say hi.
Ready to start hula hooping?
You do not need to wait until you lose weight, get stronger, or feel more “ready.”
You can start where you are.
The biggest thing is choosing a hoop that gives you a fair chance to learn.
If you’re ready to get started, my Beginner Hula Hoops are made specifically for adult beginners and come in a wide range of sizes.
And if you want a little more structure while you learn, you can add my Six-Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge for All Bodies for 50% off when you purchase a Beginner Hoop!
You do not need the course to learn to hoop. It’s just there if you want extra guidance and motivation along the way.
Big Hoop Love. 💗